Teatro dell'Opera (Teatro Constanzi) in Rome

The Rome Opera House, or Teatro dell’Opera, is the major opera venue in the Eternal City. Inaugurated in 1880 as a 2,212-seat hall, it was first known as The Constanzi Theatre, named after its architect, Domenico Constanzi, who financed the construction with his own funds, and hired Achille Sfondrini to collaborate on the project. Since its inception, the Rome Opera House has belonged among the world’s most highly rated sites for cutting-edge operatic productions and glamourous premieres. The open air theatre at the well-known Baths of Caracalla, with the dramatic Roman ruins in the background, is the venue of the opera’s summer performances.

This opera house, completed in less than two years, was inaugurated in 1880 with Rossini’s ‘Semiramide’. The site was an immediate success, and held many great premieres, including ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ by Pietro Mascagni in 1890, as well as the unforgettable ‘Tosca’ by Giacomo Puccini in 1900. Meanwhile, Sfondrini, who also became the opera’s first director, developed an excellent acoustics system. The horse-shoe auditorium was composed of three boxes, an amphitheatre, and two galleries, topped by a frescoed dome. In 1907, as the Costanzi Theatre became the property of Società Teatrale Internazionale e Nazionale, the theatre was renamed Impresa Costanzi. During that period, the site hosted many famous premieres, such as Puccini’s ‘La Fanciulla del West’, ‘Turandot’ and ‘Il Trittico’, ‘Parsifal’ by Richard Wagner, Zandonai’s ‘Francesca da Rimini’, as well as some operas, which were, at the time, less known to the western world. These included ‘Boris Godunov’ by Modest Mussorgsky, ‘Samson et Dalila’ by Saint-Saëns, as well as various acts by the Diaghilev ballet company - Les Ballets Russes.

In 1926, the Costanzi Theatre was acquired by the city of Rome and renamed Teatro Reale dell'Opera. Following a substantial restructuring by architect Marcello Piacentini, the site opened in 1928 with a performance of ‘Nerone’ by Arrigo Boito. Following the restructuring, the building’s original entrance was relocated to Piazza Beniamino Gigli. The old amphitheatre was demolished to make room for a third tier of boxes and a balcony. The interiors were decorated with stucco work, new furnishings and a gigantic crystal chandelier. Later, in the late 1940s, the opera’s name was changed again, this time to Teatro dell'Opera. The structure was substantially renewed by architect Marcello Piacentini. This was the period during which the present-day facade was completed. Piacentini also made significant contributions to the design of the foyer, but reduced the auditorium’s seating capacity to 1,600.

Some of the greatest performances held at The Rome Opera House took place after World War II. Particularly notable was the 1964 production of Mozart’s ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’, as well as ‘Don Carlos’ by Verdi, staged in 1965. These stagings were prepared by the legendary conductor Carlo Maria Giulini and director Luchino Visconti. The 1958 performance of ‘Norma’ with Maria Callas also caused a significant stir, as did ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ (1890), ‘L'amico Fritz’ (1891), ‘Iris’ (1898) with Enrico Caruso, ‘Lodoletta’ (1917), the 1910 premiere of ‘Maia’ by Ruggero Leoncavallo and Riccardo Zandonai's premiere of ‘Giulietta e Romeo’. The singers most frequently associated with the Rome Opera House include Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Franco Corelli, Joan Sutherland, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.